Drier rope cleaner



July 8, 1969 A. JOHNSON DRIER ROPE CLEANER Filed March 27, 1967 FIG.

DRIER SECTION INVENTOR BAYNARD A.JQHNSQN 7 ATTORN United States PatentABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is a housing of longitudinallytapered configuration and internal structure for catching waste materialfrom ropes passing longitudinally through the housing and a relief flapat the smaller end which may be raised for manual removal of such waste.

This invention relates to paper manufacture and more particularly to adevice for removing waste materials from ropes or cables that are usedin the manufacture, especially in the drier section.

The manufacture of paper involves the arranging of pulp in a relativelyfiat sheet and pressing and drying it in a continuous operation. In thedrier section, the pulp is carried along a conveyor felt over a seriesof drying elements and is then passed to another series or to anothersection of the machine. In order to assist in moving the pulp, thedriers of some machines are provided with a pair of ropes which extendaround the drying rolls for the purpose of gripping the lead strip ofthe pulp and carrying it onto the drier. The ropes are returned by aseries of sheaves to the beginning of the section for continuous rerun.

In a machine of the type described, there are generally a pair of nylonropes. One of the problems arising from the apparatus described has beenthat fragments of pulp sometimes are conveyed with the rope after itleaves the drier section and carried with it back over the sheaves tothe rerun. Such pulp oftentimes causes the rope to jump from the sheavesand thereby requires a shutting down of the operation until the rope canbe replaced and any damage or malfunction that has occurred in thesystem can be corrected. These shutdowns are time consuming, oftentimesrunning 45 minutes to an hour or more and are therefore a source ofgreat loss economically.

It is an objegt of the present invention to provide a device forremoving waste material such as pulp from a rope or ropes andparticularly designed for use in a system for machines of the typedescribed.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a section of paper making machinery in whichthe invention is employed and illustrating its application to thesystem;

FIGS. 2 and 3, perspectives from opposite sides of the cleanerillustrating its construction;

FIG. 4, a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5, an elevation of the larger end of the device.

Briefly stated, the invention includes a tapered housing having spacedinterior support rods with rotatable sleeves thereon over which theropes move and which catch any loose material, the housing having asmall end also adapted to trap loose material, the housing being hingedat one side for ease in mounting over the ropes and having a flap lip atits smaller end which rises to pass a large bulk of material and may bemanually raised to permit periodic manual removal of material that hasbecome trapped therein.

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With reference to the drawing, the drier section of a papermanufacturing machine is schematically indicated at 10. This includes anendless felt 11 which is carried by rollers 12 and 13 at the entranceand outlet of the drier section. Sheaves 14 and 15 at the entrance andoutlet carry one or more ropes (two being illustrated) side by side, theropes running around the drier rolls Within the section. Past the outletof the drier section the ropes are returned by a series of sheaves 17,18, 19, to the sheave 14 for rerun through the drier section.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of well known papermanufacturing machinery.

The sheaves carry a pair of ropes 16 in spaced relation, and these ropesgrip the lead strip of the pulp next to the drier in order to carry itto the drier from the preceding section.

Occasionally a fragment of pulp P adheres to one or more of the ropesand is passed over the sheaves back toward the rerun. The presentinvention includes a rope cleaning member 20 which may be mounted toreceive the rope therethrough at an appropriate position in the returnrun of the rope, such positions being indicated alternately at A or at Bin FIG. 1.

The housing is of generally tapered configuration having a relativelylarge inlet end 22 and a small outlet end 23. The housing shown in thedrawing has a lower half of substantially U-shaped cross sectionincluding a bottom wall 24 and side walls 25 and 26 which extendapproximately half way up the sides. The top half of the housingincludes a top wall 28 and downwardly extending side walls 29 and 30.The two halves that have been described are connected by hinges 31, 32along the sides 25, 29 and these are held in closed position by ears 34,35 projecting from the edges of the walls 26, 30, the ears havingapertures for receiving a removable pin 36.

The housing has a rear section 38 of relatively gentle taper and aforward section 40 of more extreme taper. The upper U-shaped portion ofthe section 40 is hinged at 42 in order to provide a flap which may beraised to permit periodic removal of materials. To facilitate raisingthis section a cable or chain 44 is connected by a ring 45 to theforward portion of the section 40 and is connected to the rear sectionby a fixture 46. A further purpose of the hinging of section 40 is topermit passage of an unusually large obstruction on the rope withoutbreaking the rope or causing damage to the cleaner. Section 40 may bepositioned in normally closed position merely by its weight or by meansof a spring 47.

The housing has spaced horizontal posts 50, 51 and vertical posts 52, 53at the forward portion of the section 38.

Adjacent to the rearward portion the housing has spaced horizontal posts54, 55 and spaced vertical posts 56, 57, 58. Each of the posts isconnected to the housing by suitable fastening means such as a bolt. Asleeve is mounted over each of the posts and in such fashion that it mayrevolve thereon.

Normally the rollers 60 are sufiicient to remove any fragments of pulp Pwhich cling to the ropes as the ropes pass through the rope cleaningmember 20. However, in some instances it may be desirable to provideadditional cleaning elements to increase the efiiciency of the device,particularly when certain types of paper or pulp are being processed.With particular reference to FIG. 4, the additional cleaning elementsmay include a plurality of threaded spikes or teeth 61 which extendinwardly through the exterior walls of the housing. Such teeth may beadjustably mounted in any desired manner as by lock nuts 62 and 63 onthe interior and exterior, respectively, of said housing. The interiornuts 62 may be manually adjusted or may be welded or otherwise securedto the housing so that the teeth may be adjusted from the exterior andlocked in adjusted position by nuts 63.

In the operation of the device, the housing is mounted on a suitablesupport and so positioned that th ropes pass through the housing andpass the sleeves on the posts through the spaces therebetween. Thisprovides sufiicient clearance to pass the ropes, including any splices,with little contact and minimizes wear and drag in the event of suchcontact. If the ropes carry any loose material such as pulp thereon,this is removed by striking against the sleeves and being dislodged orby striking against the reduced end portion 40 of the housing where itis dislodged. In the event of a large obstruction on the ropes which isnot easily dislodged, the flap is raised by the obstruction, therebyavoiding rope breakage or damage to the cleaner. From time to time thecable 44 may be used in order to raise the end of the housing in orderthat loose material contained therein may be removed.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may bemade in the invention without departing from the spirit andscopethereof, and, therefore, the invention is not limited by that which isillustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but onlyas indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An endless rope cleaner comprising a housing having openings at itsopposite ends through which the rope may pass, said housing providing anenclosure extending longitudinally of the rope, post means mounted insaid housing substantially transversely to the rope, said post meansspaced from the rope and on opposite sides thereof whereby clearance isprovided for the rope and whereby an obstruction on the rope engagessaid post means and tends to be dislodged, said housing havingrestricting means at one end whereby material dislodged will becollected in the housing as the rope passes therethrough in thedirection from the post means toward said restricting means.

2. The invention of claim 1 in which the housing is comprised of twomain sections, a rear section tapering gently and a forward sectiontapering more abruptly.

3. The invention of claim 2 in which the smaller end has a flap which ismovable to provide an enlarged openmg.

4. The invention of claim 3 in which the flap is hinged, and means forholding the flap normally closed.

5. An endless rope cleaner comprising a housing having openings at itsopposite ends through which the rope may pass, said housing providing anenclosure extending longitudinally of the rope and having one endsubstantially smaller than the other, post means mounted in said housingsubstantially transversely to the rope, said post means spaced from therope whereby clearance is provided for said rope and whereby anobstruction on the rope engages said post means and tends to bedislodged and to be collected in the housing as the rope passestherethrough in the direction from the larger to said smaller end.

6. The invention of claim 5 in which said post means comprises at leasttwo substantially oppositely disposed posts mounted beside the rope,said posts spaced apart such that the rope may pass therebetween withoutsubstantial interference.

7. The invention of claim 6 in which the posts have sleeves rotatablymounted thereon, said sleeves spaced apart so that the rope may passtherethrough without substantial interference.

8. The invention of claim 5, said housing having additional cleaningmeans extending therewithin and spaced from the path of travel of therope.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,070,355 12/1962 Wyatt 254 X426,420 4/1890 Swaine et al. 11870 X 3,098,639 7/1963 Broinberg 254190 X1,860,306 5/1932 Biener 15256.6 1,962,404 6/1934 Nichols et al 15-256.63,116,811 1/1964 Stevenson 15256.6 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 858,832 1/1961 Great Britain.

WALTER A. S-CHEEL, Primary Examiner.

L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S Cl. X.R. 15256.6; 254190

